The book launch took place in Eastbury Village Hall on
Sunday 13th July 2003 and was, though we say so ourselves, a
resounding success.

There was
an extensive and beautifully presented display of information
(which is moving to the Newbury Museum for the second half of
July) about the village, including
many photographs old and new. Members of the editorial team were
on hand to talk about the material and answer questions, and
Jenny's wonderful homemade cakes were enjoyed by all.

Thanks partly to the beautiful weather, the
hall was packed to the gunwales with visitors for much of the
time, especially after lunch, and we had to push the stragglers
out more than half an hour after 4.00pm when we had intended to
close. Everyone enjoyed it enormously, or at least claimed to,
and sales of the book have already exceeded 250.
The print run will shortly be sold out, so buy now while
stocks last.

Click on the small pictures to see the
full-sized versions (then click the 'Back' button on your
browser to return).

Version 1.03, 4th June 2012

The site

This website has been created to support the launch
of a new and, as far as we know, the only book about Eastbury.
The book is the village's millennium project; we're a
little late, but we hope the result is worth the wait.

Eastbury is a small, peaceful, pretty downland village in
West Berkshire, about a mile and a half from the horse-racing town
of Lambourn. We still have a church, a village hall and a pub,
but unfortunately have lost our Post Office, shops, garage,
bakery, two Methodist chapels and two other pubs over the course
of many years. The River Lambourn flows through the length of
the village (except when it dries up at irregular and
unpredictable intervals), and has a resident population of ducks
and moorhens.

To quote from the back cover of the book:

The village of Eastbury lies in the Lambourn Valley in the
north-western corner of Berkshire. It has yet to feature as home
to any major events that have shaped the history of England, but
in its own quiet way its history presents a revealing portrait
of the evolution of an English rural community ...

... This book aims to give a flavour of life in the
village and an appreciation of the character of this attractive
corner of West Berkshire.

The archive

During the course of compiling this book, we have accumulated
a large archive of information and pictures - far more than
could possibly be included in the book itself. This is now being
added to the web site for the benefit
both of local people and of historians who may have an interest
in Eastbury.

The first release of the archive (on 4th July
2004) contains the pictures, of which there are currently about
500; we intend to add the text documents as soon as possible.
There is some very interesting material in the archive, so
please click here and take a look.